UAB’s Paul Delaney had one of the more impressive showings of day one, especially considering how far off the radar screen he was coming into this tournament. Delaney was one of the more aggressive players seen here early on, getting into the lane time after time and finishing strong, sometimes emphatically with a violent jam. He may have forced the issue a bit at times, clearly trying to make a strong impression, but he did show some solid unselfishness whipping the ball around the floor and finding teammates with creative passes.

He was extremely active as well, crashing the offensive glass, getting in the passing lanes, and generally doing what players need to in order to stand out in this setting. A few potential weaknesses that seemed to stand out were his limited perimeter shooting ability, so-so playmaking skills, and struggles driving left, although we’ll have to look a little bit closer at these in the coming games.

He is a fearless player and is as good as more heralded small 2 like Stephon Curry, Lester Hudson, and Toney Douglas. He was arguably the best player in CUSA last year.